US restaurateur Matt Haley dies after road accident in Ladakh

American restaurateur Matt Haley died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in Ladakh, police said on Thursday. He was 53. According to the police, the accident happened on Monday near Ranvir Pora area in the mountainous district of Jammu and Kashmir.

American restaurateur Matt Haley died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in Ladakh, police said on Thursday. He was 53.

According to the police, the accident happened on Monday near Ranvir Pora area in the mountainous district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"He was on a bike when a truck coming from other side took an abrupt right turn. Initial investigations reveal that Mr Haley applied brakes but the bike skid for a long distance," Leh's superintendent of police Sunil Gupta told Hindustan Times.

A statement on his company's website said Haley's motorcycle collided with the truck.

"Eyewitnesses say there must have been some confusion about left hand and right hand drive. We are trying to find out if the vehicles actually collided," he said.

Haley slipped into a coma after the accident. He died on Tuesday while being transported by a medical jet from Leh to a hospital in New Delhi.

"He was first treated in the local hospital but was later air lifted to Delhi. He died on the way," said Gupta.

Ladakh, also called the "land of high passes" lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. The area is a favourite destination for foreign tourists.

Haley was on a six-week humanitarian expedition through northern India and Nepal, the statement on his company's website said.

"The entire team at the Matt Haley Companies is incredibly saddened by this huge loss," said Scott Kammerer, president and COO of The Matt Haley Companies.

He was traveling with international filmmaker and motorcycle expert Guarav Jani.

Haley was one of Delaware's most well-known restaurateurs and owned eight popular restaurants in the American state's beach resort towns.

He was also the first Delawarean to receive the prestigious James Beard 2014 Humanitarian of the Year award.